Hacker Sentenced For Breaking Into Medical School Application Computers

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Bosung Shim, 24, of Rockville, MD, was sentenced today to three months in prison, followed by seven months in community confinement and three years of supervised release, for unauthorized access of a protected computer.  In addition, Shim was required to pay $31,653.24 in restitution to the victim and forfeit the computer equipment used in the crime.

Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Kathy A. Michalko, Special Agent in Charge for the United States Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge T.S. Ellis, III.

Shim pleaded guilty on October 4, 2013 to one count of computer intrusion.  In a statement of facts submitted with the plea agreement, Shim admitted that from approximately June 2011 through December 2012, Shim repeatedly attempted to gain unauthorized access to multiple victims’ computers, specifically the University of Michigan and the Association of American Medical Colleges (“AAMC”).  In 2012, over a period of six months, Shim attempted to hack into the AAMC’s computers in order to change his Medical College Admissions Test scores.  When Shim was unable to hack into the AAMC’s computers himself, he hired a number of other hackers to do it for him, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage to the AAMC.  Shim also perpetrated related fraud against additional victims, including the National Institutes of Health.

This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.  Special Assistant United States Attorney Peter V. Roman, who is on detail from the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant United States Attorney Ryan K. Dickey prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.